This is Maru the cockatiel. I painted her on July 8th, and is my first commissioned pet portrait. She is a couple years old in this photo. She’s a lucky bird since she get’s to be on the cover of my Facebook and twitter profiles.
I drew here in Art Rage. Here is my process. In Art Rage, I am able to pin a reference photo to my working area. I can move it around and zoom in on details. I don’t trace photos, as the character of the animal actually gets more lost if you believe it. Just using the photo as a reference creates more lively and creative works in my opinion.
Here is a mini gallery of the process. First, I begin painting in some color, and adding depth with different shades of gray. Next I add some light yellow to her face and color the beak some. After that, worked in the rest of the color on Maru. I also pay close attention to capture her unique features, such as the light blue near her eyes and white stripe along her wing. The last couple things I do are, add her name onto the painting, add a light background to the composition, and sign the bottom.
If you have any questions about my work, feel free to contact me. If you would like a quote to paint your pet, you can fill out a request form here, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. I also respond to all comments as soon as I can.
Thanks and enjoy everyone,
Dave
DRAW ALL THE PETS 